Media Contact:
Mary Flannery
215-991-8198
Mary.Flannery@drexelmed.edu
*Headshot of Laurel Bellows available upon request
LAUREL BELLOWS TO RECEIVE VISIONARY AWARD
PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 27, 2014) - Vision 2020, a national initiative to achieve women’s economic and
social equality, will present the 2014 Visionary Award to Past President of American Bar Association and
Vision 2020 National Advisor Laurel Bellows.
Bellows will be recognized during Vision 2020’s Fourth National Congress at the Legal Leaders
luncheon at the Hyatt at the Bellevue, Monday, May 5, 2014 in Philadelphia. Bellows is the principal of
the Bellows Law Group, P.C. in Chicago, IL, and an experienced speaker on topics that range from
women’s leadership, gender equity in the workplace executive compensation and the campaign to
eradicate human trafficking in the United States.
As 2013 president of the American Bar Association, Bellows dedicated her term to combat human
trafficking in coalition with human rights, law enforcement, businesses, and civil society groups. She was
appointed as a member of the Gordon Brown Commission on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and a consultant for the Polaris Project, with a focus on women and human trafficking.
“Laurel’s accomplishments are an example of how a woman can use her leadership position to make
significant progress in addressing issues of women’s economic and physical security,” said Lynn Yeakel,
Founder and Executive Director of Vision 2020, a center within Drexel University College of Medicine’s
Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership. “Her career is an inspiration to her peers today and for
generations to come.”
Bellows serves as a member of the Vision 2020 Speakers Bureau and as one of 12 National Advisors.
“I am honored to receive this award from an organization whose values mirror my life-long goals of
achieving equality for women,” said Bellows. “Vision 2020’s work to connect women and organizations
across the country who work on reaching gender equality is something I have admired since its
inception.”
The Legal Leaders luncheon, which is open to the public, will include best-selling author and law
professor Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella as guest speakers. More than 200 women
leaders from across the country – Vision 2020 Delegates and representatives of Allied organizations –
will attend the three-day Congress.
Vision 2020 is a national coalition of organizations and individuals united in the commitment to achieve
women’s economic and social equality. Its mission is to advance shared leadership among women and
men to reach 50-50 by the year 2020, when the nation celebrates the centennial of the 19th Amendment
granting women the right to vote. Vision 2020 is comprised of 81 Allied organizations representing over
20 million people, 135 Delegates across the country who work to advance the Vision 2020 mission and
12 National Advisors providing strategic guidance.